I like the Padres’ decision to hire Mike Shildt because each of his three Cardinals teams were winners, and because Shildt learned under wise men such as legendary baseball sensei George Kissell, a longtime ace in player development.
Here’s a “George-ism” for a few Padres hitters to chew on:
Destroy the first pitch before it destroys you.
I also like the Shildt hire because Shildt worked under A.J. Preller the past two years, giving him a few clues about what he’s getting into.
One assumes Shildt was canny enough to get a prenuptial agreement.
Mike Shildt was introduced as the San Diego Padres manager at Petco Park.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Padres’ job came open just two years after Bob Melvin took it and just one year after Melvin’s first Padres team reached the National League Championship Series.
I don’t know exactly why Preller moved on from interim manager Pat Murphy in 2015. Or Andy Green in 2019. Or Preller’s buddy Jayce Tingler in 2021. Or why things soured between him and Melvin, who brought to the Padres a reputation as a flexible thinker who could relate to a wide variety of personalities.
Five managers in nine seasons?
That’s too much turnover to give Preller the benefit of the doubt about his interpersonal skills vis a vis managers.
Preller would have to be a dummy not to have taken a hard look at his own behavior relating to the Melvin divorce. “We have to get this one right,” he said a few times last month, referring to the hire that became Shildt.
There will be disagreements between Shildt and Preller. That’s fine.
The question: can they work through them?
“Me and A.J. are equally yoked in our our love for the game and (that’s) probably in all-caps: LOVE,” Shildt said. “We’re both baseball rats, we love it. … Most of our conversations, you know, they last for a long time, but they seem like it’s 15 minutes.
“So there’s familiarity there, there’s equal-mindedness, and there’s a passion for greatness, championship-caliber baseball.”
It would be grounds to dismiss Preller if the 2024 season produces the reported dysfunction that existed between him and Melvin during the last two seasons.
Preller needs to be put on notice by someone above him. No more weird stalemates, for the love of Padres fans’ sanity — such as Matt Carpenter being on the roster for 18 consecutive days without appearing in a game. No more analogies to “mom and dad fighting.”
Where can Shildt outperform Melvin?
Aside from sustaining a healthy relationship with Preller, and going back in time to summon Josh Hader against Bryce Harper, the team might benefit if Shildt were more willing to be unconventional.
The criticism of Melvin’s chess with the Padres by some neutral folks with other teams was that he was a bit too traditional. He was solid and thorough, just not a master of successful surprises.
Perhaps Shildt can cover both bases. Know this: the occasional surprise — grounded in clear thinking and attention to detail — was and is a strength of Bruce Bochy’s, both in the chess game and player relations.
I like that Preller hired Shildt to a developmental job two years ago after Cardinals GM John Mozeliak fired him over “philosophical differences.”
That’s a self-important thing for me to say. I had advocated interviewing Shildt back then. If nothing else, it made sense for Preller to get to know Shildt because of his many years in development and managing with the successful Cardinals.
A.J. Preller, Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, introduces Mike Shildt as the new manager of the Padres.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
I love that Preller interviewed Benji Gil and Adrian Gonzalez for this managerial job.
Gil, a former big-league shortstop, manager in Mexico and Angels infield coach, is reputedly an excellent leader. When he played for Castle Park High School in Chula Vista, he was described as a leader. And from me back then, he got style points for wearing old-school eye black.
Gonzalez was one of the smartest and most baseball-passionate players of his generation. He really should be in the Padres’ Hall of Fame by now.
No one was better at hunting pitches than Gonzalez, who was a Rangers prospect when Preller worked with the franchise. Padres teammates went to him for scouting reports. He conveyed helpful truths in just a few words, said Chase Headley, World Series champion David Eckstein and Will Venable, teammates of Gonzalez’s on the 2010 Padres club that won 90 games with the league’s lowest payroll.
Next, Preller will need to find several good pitchers at a time when it’s a sellers market for pitching. Providing some hope, the 2023 roster he built finished second out of 30 teams in run prevention.
Shildt, showing he’s no dummy, returns to managing with a franchise that’s capable of challenging for a playoff spot. He inherits one of MLB’s better talent cores of non-pitchers, what figures to be a top-10 player payroll and a top-15 farm system per many analysts.
